Freezer not staying cold.

[QRTRHRS]

My 5-6 year old Whirlpool side by side fridge is acting up. The freezer seems to be cycling back and forth from cold to warm spoiling food. It was dusty around the coils but I cleaned it up. The fan is working quietly. The only thing I noticed about the fan is that the shaft has lateral movement. I can pull it in and out perhaps a quarter of an inch but there is no sideways play. Don't know if that lateral play is normal?

Tweaking the setting does not change the freeze/thaw pattern. The fridge side seems to be varying too but not enough to ruin food. I have a fridge thermometer someplace that I need to find to check on the temp range.

Any suggestions before I resort to replacement? We do not like the side by side because it is hard to live with but I like to use appliances and such until they are really shot.

 

[tallyho8]

My 5-6 year old Whirlpool side by side fridge is acting up. The freezer seems to be cycling back and forth from cold to warm spoiling food. It was dusty around the coils but I cleaned it up. The fan is working quietly. The only thing I noticed about the fan is that the shaft has lateral movement. I can pull it in and out perhaps a quarter of an inch but there is no sideways play. Don't know if that lateral play is normal?

Tweaking the setting does not change the freeze/thaw pattern. The fridge side seems to be varying too but not enough to ruin food. I have a fridge thermometer someplace that I need to find to check on the temp range.

Any suggestions before I resort to replacement? We do not like the side by side because it is hard to live with but I like to use appliances and such until they are really shot.

I am 99% sure that it is something in the defrost system causing this. It could be a defrost timer, heater, heater thermostat or evaporator fan motor. The first clue would be to take off the panel in the rear of the freezer section that covers the fan and coils. If you see a buildup of ice on the coils, it is usually one of these parts that is bad. If the coils are iced up and the evaporator fan motor is working, you can turn the timer till it clicks on the defrost cycle and the heater should come on and start to melt the ice. If the heater works then the timer is bad. If the heater doesn't work it may be bad or the little round thermostat that controls it. Any of these problems are easy to fix and relatively cheap.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Where is this frig located, in the house or in another and unheated location? If in an unheated location and the area is cold, normal operation will be such that the freezer section will gradually rise in temp until it reached room temp. This is due to frig section not getting warm enough to cause the t-stat to turn the unit on.

I have this problem with a frig out in the garage and during the colder months I have to keep the interior light in the frig section so the unit will cycle on a regular basis.

 

[Bird]

Where is this frig located, in the house or in another and unheated location? If in an unheated location and the area is cold, normal operation will be such that the freezer section will gradually rise in temp until it reached room temp. This is due to frig section not getting warm enough to cause the t-stat to turn the unit on.

I have this problem with a frig out in the garage and during the colder months I have to keep the interior light in the frig section so the unit will cycle on a regular basis.

Yep, I learned that lesson after I failed to adequately read all the manual, and paid for a $65 service call.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I am 99% sure that it is something in the defrost system causing this. It could be a defrost timer, heater, heater thermostat or evaporator fan motor. The first clue would be to take off the panel in the rear of the freezer section that covers the fan and coils. If you see a buildup of ice on the coils, it is usually one of these parts that is bad. If the coils are iced up and the evaporator fan motor is working, you can turn the timer till it clicks on the defrost cycle and the heater should come on and start to melt the ice. If the heater works then the timer is bad. If the heater doesn't work it may be bad or the little round thermostat that controls it. Any of these problems are easy to fix and relatively cheap.

The way the coils are made, cleaning from the front is not very easy so I did take off the rear cover while attempting to clean it. The coils were not iced at that time nor do I see moisture evidence. I ended up taking the shop vac and blowing the dust off which made my wife happy but at least I got the coils real clean.

I did not see a timer but my access was limited due to the kitchen layout where the unit is. I will have to pull it out again to check for a timer. The heater is working because I have felt the warmth around the door frame, perhaps to much if that is possible?

The fridge came with our house when we bought it but I do know the dealer. I spoke to the tech there who asked me to check the fan. I had discribed the problem to him same as I have here even questioning him about possible circuit boards, etc. He seemed like he wanted to be helpful but seemed short on suggestions on possible intermittant problems.

I need to get back out to the barn but either tonight or tomorrow, I will look for a timer.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[RonMar]

Actually you are looking at the wrong coils. Any refrigeration process has two sets of coils. One set are the condenser coils, and those are located behind or beneath the refrigerator. These coils are the ones that shed the heat taken from inside the refrigerator to the room that it is located in. Those are the ones that get dirty and must be cleaned regularly to maintain efficiency.

The other set of coils are the Evaporator coils. These are the ones Tallyhoe8 was refering to and are usually located inside the freezer section behind the rear panel. these ones are the ones that absorb the heat inside the reefer/freezer. You probably shouldn't find any dust on these Air is blown past these internal coils via fan, with a little bit of this cool air sent over to the reefer to keep it at a cool, but not freezing level.

You will probably have to empty the freezer section to reach the evap coils. As with any cool surface, they tend to condense the water vapor from the air, which is replaced every time you open the freezer door. Since the evap coils and their associated plates are below freezing, this condensed water freezes onto, and insulates the coils and block internal airflow past them. These type refrigerators have a small timer and heating element that runs every so often to melt that built up ice. The melted water goes into the drip pan beneth the reefer and is evaporated back into the atmosphere. Hence the title of "frost free" usually found in the advertsing. If for some reason this heater dosn't run at a regular interval, the frig will gradually fail to cool.

Two ways to check this:
1. Empty the freezer, and remove the inner back panel to look at the evap coil/fins. Look for ice buildup.
2. Empty the freezer and using a hair dryer, shoot warm air up into the lower air vent in the inside back panel of the freezer. This should melt the ice and send a bunch of water to the drip pan under the freezer(empty drip pan before starting this).

In either case, melt this ice(DO NOT CHIP AT THE ICE!), reload the freezer and see if this restores normal operation. If so, look into the defrost heater circuit for proper operation. If you do not find any ice, then the problem lies elsewhere and some more specialized tools will be required to properly troubleshoot the actual problem.

Good luck

 

[rich_ncal]

I had the same problem with mine. Follow the earlier advice and check for ice at the back of the freezer. There is a back panel that covers the interior coils. Remove that to check for the ice build up.

There is a heater element at the bottom of the interior coils. This is for the defroster.

My experience is moisture gets into these heaters and they fail. They are relativity easy to replace and are available from online parts stores.

 

[tallyho8]

Yes, I meant the coils on the inside of the freezer section, not the ones under the refrigerator. You must remove the items from your freezer and your freezer shelves and unscrew the back panel inside the freezer to look for ice on the coils. Some of these refrigerators have the timer under the kick plate at the front of the refrigerator but many of the newer models have the timer built into the icemaker and if it is bad it requires you to replace the icemaker. The fan motor I was referring to is the fan motor inside the freezer section behind the back panel, not the one under the refrigerator. It is normal for the motor to have some back and forth play in the shaft.

The defrost heater is on or under the coils in the freezer section. This is different than the heater around the doors that keeps moisture from building up on the outside of the refrigerator around the doors. Usually, you can't feel the heat from this door heater because the refrigerator is keeping it cool. You just feel the heat now because it is not cooling properly.

The first thing we need to know in order to help you is if there is a buildup of ice on the coils and whether or not you can find the timer or if it is built into the icemaker. The model number would help us give you correct info also.

 

[DUMBDOG]

I just had the same problem a couple of months ago. The only difference was that it was a top mounted freezer. It would ice up in the back of the freezer indicating that the coils were icing up. The repairman replaced the timer and the thermometer or whatever the second thing was. There are only three items in the series and it was not the coil.

My brother also just had a problem with his the wiring was caught in the fan and the fan did not turn. Moved the wire and that corrected the problem.

I did find an excellent research item for this on the web and when I self diagnosed the problem it came to the second part that the repairmen replaced which fixed the problem.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Where is this frig located, in the house or in another and unheated location? If in an unheated location and the area is cold, normal operation will be such that the freezer section will gradually rise in temp until it reached room temp. This is due to frig section not getting warm enough to cause the t-stat to turn the unit on.

I have this problem with a frig out in the garage and during the colder months I have to keep the interior light in the frig section so the unit will cycle on a regular basis.

Don't ask me how I know... I learned this one the hard way. Can't put newer fridges in temps below40 or 50 (look at manual for actual number) or the freezer section might just not run, because the fridge section is cool enough without running. you can buy a freezer for cold locations, but must look at the specs, the less expensive ones won't run well in cold weather.